Loving You
by blessed-devil
Summary: One of the few NaruSaku stories out there. Sakura gets into a fight with Sasuke, and then finally begins to notice Naruto. What happens if Sasuke falls in love with Sakura? Who will she choose? And do I ever suck at summaries.


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What you need to know:  
-Yes, I intentionally did not put all that much detail so that the readers won't get bored. This fanfic is for those who want to understand the story quickly and for those who do not want to read that much detail. I know these romantic stories need dramatic details, but after a lot of experience in reading fanfics, I find myself liking those fanfics made by people with wrong grammar and short narratives more than those detailed stories. Is it because I'm impatient? Who knows? Anyways, please read the fic and see if you'll find it interesting. If it is not, then I humbly apologize for this is the first fanfic I will ever post on the net.  
-If you think that I should just put more details, post it in the reviews and either I'll remake this or create a new chapter.  
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Loving You

**Chapter 1**

_Every moment marked  
With apparitions of your soul  
However swiftly moving  
I'm trying to escape this desire  
The yearning to be near you  
I do what I have to do  
The yearning to be near you  
I do what I have to do  
And I had the sense to recognize  
That I don't know how to let you go_

"_Do What You Have to Do"  
Sarah McLachlan_

Sakura was walking along town, all teary-eyed and sniffing. 'I will never love you!' those words slapped into her heart. Every time she saw Sasuke's image inside her mind, pain throbbed inside her, and she just had to cry.

"_Sakura, I want you to get one thing straight," Sasuke said._

Her footsteps become slower, and tears visibly fell on the ground.

"_You are annoying. You're brash. Things I don't like about a girl..." He repeatedly sparred her._

She sniffed once.

"_I will NEVER love you. I'd rather be married to a rock."_

She tripped on a rock. Usually, she knew if she will trip on something, but today she just felt too weak. She stood up and continued walking.

She wanted to meet with somebody, anybody. She wanted to feel the warm presence of a friend after her shocking talk with Sasuke. Eventually she came up to a ramen shop and found Naruto inside. _'Well, it's better than nothing'_ she told herself. _'Besides, I think Naruto will be good for my situation now.'_ She knew he loved her, so she tried to get comfort from him.

Naruto was busy eating his ramen in the shop. The owner didn't find it strange that Naruto was eating like he was, since he got used to seeing him eat his ramen. Suddenly, Sakura came in with a sad look on her face.Naruto saw her. _'This is very unlike her',_ Naruto thought. Usually she was cheery. Something was wrong. Sakura sat beside Naruto and sighed.

"Is there something wrong, Sakura?" Naruto asked. "Did Sasuke hurt your feelings again?"

The 'Sasuke' part of the sentence stabbed Sakura's heart with a huge knife. She looked at Naruto and sighed. "Yes, he did." Sakura rested her chin on her palm.

"That Sasuke!" Naruto pounded the table. "What did he say again this time? I'm gonna give him so much hurtin' that he'll regret he ever lived!"

Sakura was strangely moved by Naruto's persistence on loving her, and felt guilty for ignoring that all this time. This boy really loved her. She looked at him with a wide eye as he resumed eating his ramen.

While watching him eat, she realized that if Naruto wasn't a real brat, he actually looked kind of cute. She was this close to telling him, 'Naruto, you're such a kind person' until reality struck her. _'Sakura!'_ her inner self said to her, _'Shame on you! Don't you hate Naruto?'_ Quickly, she pushed her thoughts away. Oh man, she was so affected by what happened to her that even Naruto was starting to look good. She quickly averted her gaze and looked at the table.

Naruto finished his ramen rather quickly, and then he saw Sakura just staring at the table. "Aren't you going to eat?" he asked.

"No, I just came here to see you." Sakura replied.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"I..." Sakura fell silent for a while and then, "Naruto... I want you to comfort me."

"Huh?" Naruto was confused. She wanted him to comfort her? His heart pounded.

"Naruto..." Sakura buried her face in her small hands. Naruto then hears her sniffing. "(Sniff, sniff) I... I want someone to cry on..."

When Naruto heard Sakura say that, his hatred for Sasuke grew even further. He was seriously going to beat the guy up, sharingan or not. Naruto stood up and pat Sakura on the shoulder. He didn't know what to say to her. He felt that if he said a single word, she would cry even more.

Sakura then stood up, still crying. She needed someone to cry unto, so she rested her face on Naruto's chest. Naruto could understand Sasuke's arrogance, but if he was hurting girls, then he had reached his limits. Sakura's tears stained his cloth, but that was a minor thing compared to making Sakura feel comfortable. Most of the people eating looked at them weirdly. They must think that he had a romantic involvement with Sakura.

Sakura could feel her teammate's heart pounding and beating fast. It somehow felt nice that he had feelings for her after she felt Sasuke really hurt her. Those words made her feel like no one could love her. So knowing Naruto loved her made her happy.

After a long while, she parted with Naruto. "Thank you," she said, and then she left the ramen shop.

The next day...

The moon was visible over the Hidden Leaf Village. It was nighttime, around seven.

Sakura heard her doorbell. Her parents were on a mission in the hidden sound village, so she was alone on the house. She opened the door and found Naruto smiling at her, scratching the back of his head as usual. He wasn't wearing his forehead protector, so this wasn't a mission. What's he up to?

"Uhhh, Sakura... Can I ask for......... a date?" asked Naruto.

Sakura yelped a bit in surprise, and then looks away from him to hide her red cheeks. Why was she blushing now? She thought she didn't like Naruto. It's not like this is the first time he asked for a date... she didn't redden before, so why was it different now?

"Uhh... sure..."

Naruto's eyes widened. He was surprised at her answer. Even Sakura was surprised at her own answer. This was the first time she had agreed to date him out of the millions of times he asked.

"I don't have any plans for tonight anyway, and Ino is dating with Shikamaru so I can't really go to her house right now," Sakura made up her excuse. This wasn't her real reason, but she doesn't even know her own reason for agreeing to date him.

"Well, let's go!" Naruto happily said, linking his arm through Sakura's. They both walked through Konoha with smiles on their faces.

They arrived on a restaurant. _'Hunky Junky'_ the sign on the restaurant says. She has never seen this before. It must be new. The design made it look like an elaborate restaurant, though the food was affordable. Genius, one could say. Although it was such a funny name for a classy restaurant.

"This is where we will eat?" asked the impressed Sakura. She did not know Naruto would take her to such place, and for free. She smiled as she walked through the entrance, her arms still linked through Naruto's. "It's fancy."

"Thanks," Naruto smiled, walking towards the cashier to order the food.

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Minutes later they found themselves having dinner together. Naruto was really shy – it was very unlike him. Usually he's full of energy when eating dinner, but today Sakura found him slowly digesting his food. "Naruto?" she called. "Is there something wrong?"

Naruto stops eating. "A-Ah, w-w-w-what?" his face was bright red. _'How cute...'_ Sakura thought. She was flattered to realize that he wasn't actually the brat she thought he was. The way he was acting was... what else could she say? It was cute.

"Come on, you don't need to be shy." Sakura had a gentle tone in her voice. She put her hand on his chin, and then _she _blushes. Without his forehead protector, he actually looked good.

Naruto on the other hand, was bedazzled by the gentle, smiling face Sakura was showing him. His heart beat even faster when she tenderly touched his chin to make him face her. He reddened even more. Sakura was so beautiful...

Sakura sighed in disappointment and let go of Naruto's chin.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked. The girl just smiled at him and waved her hand. "It's nothing..." she replied, looking at her finished food. She was thinking something when she observed Naruto's face, and she was so disappointed.

He didn't look as good as Sasuke. This wasn't good. She was still in love with Sasuke, even after he said those horrible words...

The next day

Sakura sits down near the waterfall, her mind deep in thought. Her eyes were pinned on the ground before her. She looked sad.

She and Sasuke hadn't been talking for quite some time now as they waited for their teacher to arrive. Sasuke gave himself a small smirk. She won't be bothering him for quite some time now, so he can have peace and can concentrate on getting more power. Still, he can't help but be worried at the situation. He really didn't intend Sakura to hate him, but he also didn't want her thinking that he's planning on being her boyfriend or anything. Now she hated him. He just hoped that this problem would soon be solved.

Silence was in the forest, broken only by the sound of the waterfall. Finally, Naruto arrived. _'This guy will keep things noisy for a while,'_ Sasuke thought.

"Good morning Naruto," greeted Sakura with a smile. Sasuke grunted. This was the first time he had seen Sakura greet Naruto when he arrived. He felt a sort of...jealousy... in his mind... She didn't even look at him ever since this morning, and now she was greeting his rival?

"Ah, hello Sakura. Did Sasuke hurt you or anything?" Naruto asked.

"No, he hasn't done anything," Sakura replied with a smile instead of the sad look she showed when she was with Sasuke alone. This made Sasuke even more jealous.

"What're you gonna do if I do something to her?" Sasuke glared at him with small sparks in his left hand.

"I'm gonna kick your ass!" Naruto runs towards Sasuke to punch him, but due to his speed fuzzy-brow-matching speed, he quickly avoids and kicks Naruto in the ass.

"Who kicked whose ass again?" Sasuke said sarcastically.

"Stop it, you two..." a voice from behind said. He sounded a lot like...

Naruto and Sasuke looked behind to see their teacher glaring at them, with a scroll on his right hand.

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Ssschrrchhhhh!

A tree branch fell as Naruto jumped on it. Man, he really needed to concentrate better on jumping from tree to tree. He could've fallen. Suddenly he heard a scream from afar. It sounded an awful lot like a girl he knew...

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Sakura looked left and right, searching for the bird. Her team was sent on a C-Rank mission to find a bird carrying a list. It was supposed to be carried to the Hokage, and it was very well trained, but somehow it got lost. This was getting to be suspicious. Someone might be behind this.

"Oh!" she was surprised when she heard the flapping of birds. She leapt to where the sound came from, and there she saw the bird with a scroll tied to its feet.

She was glad that she found the bird, but now the problem is getting to the bird. She stealthily creeps forward, but was suddenly stopped by a very, very soft sound. She was trained to be aware of everything, so the sound caused her extreme caution. You never know when shinobis will come flying at you with full speed.

Her awareness was a good thing, as she sensed a kunai behind her. She quickly rolled sideward to avoid the attack, and looked behind. She saw three ninjas who are in a formation of some kind. They looked like sound Nins, but they didn't have the mark of the sound village. Strange... And their formation is even stranger.

Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind. There was another one hidden in the bushes for an ambush. Sakura screamed.

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Naruto hid inside a bush as he saw where the scream that he heard came from. Sakura was in trouble, and he had to help her. He did his hand seals and used Kage Bunshin.

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As Sakura struggles to break free of the shinobi holding her, she noticed Naruto creeping towards the three shinobis alone. She wanted to smile, but that would just get the ninjas' attention, and then his position would be given away. She resisted the urge to smile with all her willpower, and glared at a shinobi in front of her. He seemed to be the leader of this group.

The leader sensed Naruto trying to creep behind, and immediately threw a kunai at him, stabbing him on the chest. When Sakura saw this, she just smiled, trusting her friend.

Naruto, or rather a clone of Naruto, disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "A Bunshin?" the leader said.

Another Naruto jumped out from the side and threw a kunai at the leader. Unfortunately, the leader caught the kunai with his bare hand. Another one of the ninjas threw a shuriken at Naruto quickly, but he manages to avoid the attack. He landed on his feet with a hand as support. "So, you are the real one..." the leader said.

"Give me back my Sakura!" Naruto threw another kunai, but the leader caught it once again. Then all the others charge towards Naruto. This was getting violent, so he did a hand seal, but he was interrupted by a sword from one of the ninjas. He disappeared again.

"What?!" the leader exclaimed. "This boy is tricky..."

"So you noticed," Sakura said, free from the shinobi's grip. Naruto was standing beside her, smiling. A dead body was laying on her other side, too.

The kunai on the hand of the leader suddenly exploded, and all four enemy ninjas slammed into a tree. "Let's run!" Naruto yelled, and they turned around to sprint. Hopefully, they'll find either Sasuke or Kakashi-sensei to help them.

After a mile of running, Naruto saw that the four ninjas were catching up to them fast. He looked behind and spotted one of them putting purple liquid on a kunai. Shit! They were going to poison them. The kunai was thrown, and aimed at Sakura. Naruto jumped in the way just in time to save her from the poisonous kunai, but now he was the one poisoned.

"Naruto-kun!" cried Sakura, holding Naruto's limp form.

Then, from the trees, Kakashi dove onto the ninjas. And that was the last thing Naruto saw before he fainted.

When Naruto woke up, he was in the hospital. Sakura was sitting down on a chair beside him. She smiled when she saw Naruto awake.

"Finally..." she said. "You're awake now. I wanted to say something."

"Really?" Naruto looked curious. "What?"

"You saved me. Thank you," Sakura smiled. "A-And...sorry..."

"Sorry?" Naruto asked. "Sorry for what?"

Slowly, Sakura replied. "I'm sorry you had to save me......"

"Oh, that? It's okay... as long as _you_ are okay."

Sakura was touched. She doubted she would find anyone else who'd protect her like Naruto does. She stood up and faced the window, just to get her gaze away from Naruto. She did not want him to see her red cheeks. "Um, I gotta go. See ya" and then she left the room.

"Bye, Sakura."

----------

After a few minutes, Kakashi came in the room with a very serious look on his face. He was holding some kind of hospital paper. He looked at Naruto, who was looking back at him.

"Have you had any bad dreams lately, Naruto?" the teacher asked.

"No, none that I know of." Naruto replied.

"Okay, but soon you will dream of Orochimaru. Do not ever listen to Orochimaru."

"Huh? Isn't he gone by now?"

"Those ninjas that attacked you were part of Orochimaru's upcoming army. That poison you were struck with was intended for Sasuke, but you got them pissed off so they threw it at you." Kakashi sat down on the same chair Sakura sat down a while ago.

"And...?" Naruto asked.

"The poison holds the power of the cursed seal, only it works in your blood. The only way to stop this is through your own willpower."

Naruto looked down.

"Don't ever listen to Orochimaru, okay?"

"Yes, teacher."

Later that night

_Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!_

The laughter of the snake-like man echoed in the dark void. Naruto did not know how he got there and when. He just saw Orochimaru in front of him before he knew it.

"_Ha, ha, ha! That girl of yours will never love you! You are a demon!"_

"That's not true!" Naruto exclaimed, punching Orochimaru's figure. His hand went straight through the snake man's body. He fell down and was forced to listen to his taunts.

"_Your only purpose is to release kyuubi! Release its full potential! Kill the girl!"_

"NOOO!!!!!" Naruto tried to use Rasengan, but his chakra couldn't operate in this void. This angered him even more.

"_Ha, ha, ha, ha! You will release kyuubi from its prison... sooner or later..."_

"_Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"_

"AH!" Naruto woke up from his dream. Cold sweat trickled from his neck. It was just like Kakashi had predicted. He won't listen to Orochimaru. He would never give in...

The next day

Sakura was eating at 'Hunky Junky' as usual. It was nighttime, and the moonlight was very romantic in the view.

Then Sasuke arrived at the restaurant. After he looked around he saw Sakura, walked up to her. The female ninja suddenly seemed to be in a foul mood, her eyes looking gloomy and depressed.

"Would you mind if I sat down?" Sasuke asked, pointing at the chair in front of Sakura.

Sakura slowly shook her head, not moving her eyes at all. Her eyes were kept on her food. Sasuke then sat down and looked at Sakura.

"Sakura... I..." Sasuke was hesitating to say something.

"Do you need something, Sasuke?" Sakura sharply said.

Sasuke gulped down a huge one. She was cute when she was mad. He missed Sakura calling him Sasuke-kun. In the past, he didn't give it a damn until he lost that Sakura. Now, he wanted it back.

"I'm sorry, Sakura..." Sasuke sincerely said, his eyes glued to Sakura's face. "I'm sorry for everything I said to you..."

Sakura's eyes widened. Why was he suddenly......? She didn't know if she should forgive him or not. Her heart began to beat faster.

"I realized... after you refused to speak with me..." Sasuke was still hesitating on what he was trying to say. "Sakura... I..."

Sasuke held Sakura's hand. The girl began to turn red. "I love you, Sakura..."

Her heart thundered in her ears, and beat even more. She couldn't believe Sasuke actually loved her, after all these years. But these past few days she... oh, what ever should she do? Something inside her tells her that Sasuke is the one she loved, but there was another face that kept flashing in her mind. A particular blonde-haired boy.

Then she noticed Naruto was there, glaring at them from the entrance. Then, the blonde haired boy ran away with pain in his eyes. A tear escaped from Sakura's eye, and she stood up to leave the restaurant, but Sasuke also stood up blocking her path. The Uchiha grabbed Sakura's face, and then gives her a kiss in the lips. "Sakura... please... do you still love me?"

Sakura pushed Sasuke away. She had loved this guy for years, and she didn't think she would push him away from her like this. "I'm sorry, Sasuke! There is something I must do!" And then she ran outside the restaurant.

-- -- -- -- --

Naruto stood on the edge of the cliff overlooking the Hidden Leaf Village, sobbing over what happened. He was so enraged that a little bit of kyuubi's chakra was let out. He was now burning in orange aura. Every time he remembered Sakura in _his_ arms, his rage filled him. Naruto punched the ground and it was a surprise that the cliff didn't crash. He would have fallen. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing.

He wasn't usually this affected when he finds Sakura with Sasuke, but now it hurt him more than he expected when their hands held and they looked at each other so sweetly...

Then he remembered Orochimaru's words in his dream. 'That girl will never love you!' he said. It was true.

Strange, black marks were growing inside of him just like when Sasuke's cursed seal activates. Then, kyuubi's chakra came flowing out of his body. Kyuubi was trying to get out of his body. The nine tailed fox has gone berserk, just as the cursed seal. He had lost control of himself ever since he saw _them _in the restaurant. Now he was covered in the darkness and rage...

"No, Naruto!!"

He heard a sound, barely audible. Voices could barely reach him where he is.

"NARUTO!! Naruto, return to me! Please, Naruto!"

Kyuubi and the cursed seal calmed down a bit, hearing the voice of a very familiar girl. He didn't turn around to see who it was.

"If you're thinking that me and Sasuke..."

Orange chakra exploded from Naruto's body after hearing the name of the man he was enraged with. He didn't give time for Sakura to finish her sentence.

"Naruto! Would you please listen to me?!"

Naruto growled, letting more of kyuubi's chakra out. The fox was slowly solidifying. Soon he would be fully released and will wreak havoc in Konoha.

"Ah!" Sakura screamed, frustrated at Naruto. "This just isn't the Naruto I've known!"

Another explosion of chakra.

"This just isn't the Naruto that I..." Sakura continued, hesitating a bit. "The Naruto I... I have always loved... the Naruto that I love would listen to me..." a drop of tear trickled down her cheeks as she looked at Naruto. His back was to her.

She gave Naruto a hug from behind. Naruto's eyes widened. He was really hot with orange chakra, but Sakura held on. Now she was sure of how she felt. She wanted to be with Naruto more than anything.

The orange chakra started to come back to Naruto, and the cursed seal slowly started disappearing. Sakura smiled.

Soon Naruto was back to his old body. "Sakura-chan..."

Sakura did not hold back her tears of joy when Naruto returned to his normal self. She made Naruto turn around, and she cried on his chest again, but this time it was because she was happy. She was happy that Naruto didn't give in to the cursed seal, but even more than that... She was happy that she was with Naruto. They both hug each other, not minding how long they would do this.

"Naruto, please don't leave me..." Sakura pleaded.

"Sakura-chan... Weren't you dating Sasuke a while ago?" replied Naruto.

"I wasn't dating him!" she cried some more. "I was just eating there when he arrived!"

"And your hands were together..."

"Stop it!" she yelled, smacking Naruto's shoulder lightly. "I realized something when Sasuke said he was in love with me..."

Naruto's heart tightened when after she said that. But then, a few words escaped from his lips. "What did you realize?"

"I... Naruto-kun... I..." Sakura looked at Naruto in the eye. "I LOVE YOU, NARUTO-KUN!"

And deep inside, Sakura knew she meant it. She meant it with every ounce of her strength.

Naruto's enraged face turned into a warm smile. "I love you too, Sakura-chan..."

They both held each other for they did not know how long.


End file.
